They told her that you had to lie to survive. No, she didn't have to lie for herself. She lied for him constantly, even before she knew who he was. What was her beginning might be his end, and she wasn't about to let it happen. LaCroixOC Rewrite complete

AN:
If you are lucky enough to be reading this for the first time, you
will need to know that the entire story is being redone from chapter
one to chapter 3. This story is old, lemme tell you, and over that
amount of time I have been very busy and consequently unhappy with
how I started the story out. I plan to replace chapters one thru
three in a matter of a week. Hopefully, you won't have had to deal
with the many inconsistencies my stories have tended to have…..
God, trying to write a novel has turn me into a writing snob and a
grammar Nazi.

Prologue

The
images were still fresh in her mind. Adelle, or Diana as they called
her in her 'new' home, remembered her father's death pale skin,
his confession to his loving wife, and ultimately the slaying of her
mother. Her Aunt Cecilia had disappeared only a few weeks before her
entire world was ripped from beneath a tiny, five year old girl's
feet. She remembered seeing her too. Not only had both of her parents
become vampires, but her mother had become a Kuei-Jin.

She
didn't know the fate of her mother, or quite frankly, where her
father and her aunt had gone. It was only by the hand of the hunter
who 'saved her' that she came to be in LA anyways. Part of her
saw reason to thank him, but all at once she hated him for it. Being
so near the source of her pain had the potential to bring all those
horrific memories back.

Luck
was finally on her side, and those images ceased to haunt her now.
She had been made immune to the terrors of the night by Grunfeld
Bach, who found her weeping and screaming in a terrible fit of fear
that wretched night she lost her family. There was a time she loved
him for it, but that time had long passed. Like any young girl in
their early twenties, Diana the Huntress no longer wished to tote
around a semi-automatic rifle or other such weapons. She had not long
ago taken to defying him, a notion which presented many large
arguments within the chapel whenever she returned.

That
night should have been one of those nights, that is if the LA Kindred
didn't have plans for her. She walked into the unusually empty
first floor of the Society of Leopold, looking into each side room to
search for any of her compatriots. She found none of them.

Diana
abandoned the search and continued into the chapel, where she found
Bach facing the podium. He did not pray, but rather waited for her in
an unnatural manner. When he turned, the young girl feared the worst.
Someone had dominated Grunfeld Bach, and that was a feat she had
never heard of.

"Adelle?"
A faintly familiar woman's voice called out from behind her.

Diana
dropped her bag right beside her feet. Balance grew threatened due to
the situation and the stilettos that kept the Huntress on her toes.
It was not the sheer shock of Bach's dominated state, but rather
the shock brought on by the face that decorated the woman before her.

"Aunt
Cecilia?"

A
blond headed, fairly young looking woman stood before her, dressed
like the office assistant she had been in life. She kept her skirt
long and her suit jacket buttoned all the way up, as if merely the
notion of a slutty office assistant repulsed her. She might have been
mistaken for Therese Voerman, if not for how her lengthy, curly hair
fell over her shoulders.

"Yes,
yes it's me! I'm here to get you out of here!" She spoke
sincerely, no power of the Kindred dripping out of her.

The
huntress knew not what to think of the situation. Indeed, she wanted
to take her Aunt's hand and run away. She wanted to leave Bach
standing there in a state of catatonia.. But she knew better. She
knew that behind her Aunt's smile there had to be other motives.
Something drove her to come looking for her niece now of all days.

"Where
have you been the last fifteen years of my life?!" Diana said,
almost in protest.

"Working
for the same man you've been trained to kill, the man who made your
father and I who we are today. He gave us permission to bring you to
your real home, Adelle, with
us. It's
a family affair now, really. Your father is LaCroix's assistant,
as am I sometimes, but I am the Ventrue Primogen. I will
take care of you."

It
all seemed to good to be true. Her family had suddenly returned,
swooped into her life as if it could all be fixed. She hoped it could
be. Without a doubt, Diana prayed for a second chance with her
family. She did not know what she had gotten herself into as she
picked up her bag and retreated with her Aunt into her own room.
Everything was gathered up, and when Grunfeld Bach awoke from his
trance, his beloved daughter 'Diana' was gone.

She
would never shed that name. Diana understood that much as she rode in
her Aunt's Lotus Exige S 240. The red metallic paint made the car
fanatic in her squeal. She was in the car of her dreams, and Cecilia
seemed to realize that as they drove quickly toward Downtown LA.

"You
can have it, if you like. I have a Lamborghini that I like much
more."

Magic
words, those few sentences were.

It
was with the offering that Diana decided to forget that her aunt
might be reeling her into some kind of ruse set up by the Kindred.
She didn't care. Cecilia was the same loving person she had been in
life, only with a few minor changes. Those changes paled in
comparison to how different things could be for Diana once she was
reunited with her family. The thought of meeting LaCroix in the
meantime didn't pass through her mind. She could only focus of her
father.

Freeway
exits and slower moving cars passed by in a blur that Diana barely
cared to acknowledge. The only thing that caught her attention was
her Aunt reaching into the backseat. With a grin, she put her niece's
worries to rest. A swift movement pulled a short black dress from
the backseat.

"Go
ahead and pull it on. We don't have time to stop."

As
Diana accepted the dress and began to strip almost without question,
Cecilia reached forward to turn on the car stereo.

Coin-operated
boy. Sitting on the shelf. He is just a toy. But I turn him on, and
he comes to life. Automatic joy. That is why I want --- a --- coin
operated boy.

Diana
had never heard the lyrics before, but her aunt seemed to enjoy the
song, bobbing her head to the music and speeding up. As the huntress
removed her clothes and tossed them behind her, she could only look
to either side. She assumed that her aunt was going to fast for
anyone to see her changing as the Lotus Exige passed them all up and
forced dust down their throats.

Made
of plastic and elastic. He is rugged and long lasting. Who could ever
ever ask for more? Love without complications galore..

That
coin operated boy was beginning to sound good to Diana too. She had
recently had some boy troubles herself in the shape of her now
ghoul'd boyfriend, Dylan Shores. It was hard to be in a
relationship with someone who had a liquid fixation on another man.
She tried to forgive him for it, but it was hard to do. She feared
that someday, her dislike for the whole situation might drive her to
betray Dylan's trust. What a pity that this was to be the case that
night.

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